Teen Dating: Can You Find True Love In High School?

Smiling beautiful woman in love talking to telephone

By Yazmin Dominguez and Alexander Vassiliadis

Yazmin is a senior at Huntley High School, and Alex is a former British School student who now resides in Greece. Both are student reporters for The Mash, a weekly teen publication distributed to Chicagoland high schools.

You’re too young too be tied down

True love and high school. For some reason each of those words said in the same sentence doesn’t sound like a good mix. High school is the time to get good grades, excel at academics and perhaps jumpstart your career.

But we have to take into account the fact that being in high school also brings unnecessary distractions such as the washed-out drama, cliques and crushes. While dating in high school is, to put it simply, “cute,” it’s not true love. We’re just too young for that. Adults fall in love. Yes, you read it correctly. Adults, not teenagers. Grown up people with a strong sense of maturity, a job and a passion besides playing video games.

Being in love is so much more besides the looks; it goes deeper than holding someone’s hand and it’s definitely more than just going out with someone to be able to say, “I have a boyfriend or girlfriend.”

I think only a person with more years of experience can clearly comprehend the whole concept of “love.” So personally, I don’t think true love can be found in high school. You’re in high school! Why do you want to be tied down? Take these four years to have fun, find your type, enjoy the company, and learn how to deal with your current boyfriend or girlfriend, so when the right one comes along you’ll know exactly if they’re the one.

--Yazmin Dominguez

Only if you’re mature enough

Honestly, and with no offense to anyone, this is one of the shallowest questions that I’ve had to answer. Love is not something that you find, rather it’s something that finds you.

Hence, I can’t specify whether someone can find love in high school or not. Everyone’s situation is different. If a person is lucky enough to develop a deeper relationship with someone, or if they decide to mold their own fate within the halls of their high school, they could form a relationship that blossoms into something special.

However, most teenagers are so unstable and so mentally immature that I’m not quite sure they would know what love is if it came and hit them in the face.

There are certain exceptions, though. There are young adults who have gone through certain experiences and endured certain hardships, which probably allowed them to grow up fast.

These particular teens may have the mental stability and patience to find someone they’re compatible with.